Need You Now
by BeginningAnew
Summary: Based AFTER 6x13 "The Daredevil in the Mud". This is how *I* think the episode should have ended.


**[Authors Note: Okay, so, based off Thursday's episode and the lovely lyrics of Lady Antebellum, I have received a new muse. This is another song fic, and I am NOT, I repeat, I am NOT done with "Bonded", but I REALLY wanted to do this. This is what happened, in my mind, after Thursday's episode. I hope you enjoy. All the love, ~P]**

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor  
Reaching for the phone cause I can't fight it anymore  
And I wonder if I ever crossed your mind  
For me it happens all the time_

Temperance Brennan left Seeley Booth's apartment with a sigh. In all her six years of working with him she had only seen him this drunk a couple of times and it honestly scared her. When she arrived back at her apartment, she barely wasted time getting out of her outfit and into comfortable clothes. As she walked down the hall way towards her bedroom, she noticed the two pictures of people she had on her wall. In both the pictures both she and her partner had been smiling. One was from one of her book signings, when he stood in line for two hours without her knowing just so she would sign a book he knew she would sign outside of the lines. The other was from their last day together before they went their separate ways.

She sighed and reached down, pulling her shirt above her head and making her way into her bedroom. She tossed the clothes in the dirty clothes hamper and went to her bathroom. She removed her underwear and reached into the shower, turning it on. Was it one in the morning in the morning on a Friday night/Saturday morning, yes, but after dealing with a drunk Booth, she needed a shower. She shivered slightly as the warm water hit her slightly chilled skin and she sighed as she let the warmth of the water hit her skin.

Never in her life did she feel as torn as she did right now. Booth was her partner and one of her best friends and she knew how bad he had been hurt tonight. But, what he didn't realize was how much he had hurt her when he gave her only two options. She wasn't going to just get up and walk out on him, because she wasn't that kind of person but, at the same time, she wasn't one to "settle" for things either. But, for Booth's sake, she did. As the water hit her she let all her muscles relax. She wondered, in one of the most inappropriate moments, how Booth was doing. She tried to shake it from him from her mind, but she just couldn't. She sighed and turned off the water, this was going to be a long night.

_Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door  
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before  
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind  
For me it happens all the time_

Seeley Booth was drunk, he was very drunk. He had no idea what on Earth he did at the bar that made Bones sit there with him and drink until he could litterly feel the whiskey sloshing around in his stomach, but she did. And he felt like an ass for every single second of it. When she let him in his apartment after fishing his keys out of the pocket, she pushed him towards his bedroom. She wasted no time getting her hands on him and out of his clothes.

At first, he thought he was going to have sex with his partner that night, but, then he kind of came to his senses and realized she was getting him undressed because he didn't have the willpower to do it himself. She left a bucket beside the bed and a glass of water with two pills on the bedside table. Before she left, she told him to call her in the morning when he was sober, and he mumbled something before asking her to leave. He regretted that decision. He didn't want her to leave and by the way she stood at his bedroom door for a couple of seconds before she finally left told him she didn't want to leave him alone either, but she respected him and his need for privacy, and she left.

When she did is when he finally lost it. He never cried very much, but tonight was one of those nights where he just needed to cry. He buried his face in the pillow and let loose, letting go of all the hurt and the pain he had felt when Hannah said she wasn't the marrying kind. He knew how to pick 'em, and he hated how he loved every one of them so much. When he opened his eyes, he could've swore that he saw her standing there, but then the tear fell, and he saw the door again.

Before he finally drifted off to sleep, he thought about calling her and apologizing, but then decided against it. There was no way she was going to come back now, not after the night he had given her. He didn't mean to give her those choices, but he was angry. He had forced himself to love Hannah, and he knew he had. Booth had to move on, but he couldn't, and now he was alone again. As he fell asleep, he thought of Bones and the explaining he had to do come the morning.

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now  
'Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now  
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now._

Her phone was ringing, and she didn't know if it was in her dreams or in reality, but she reached over to her bed side table to grab it before I went to voicemail.

"Brennan," She answered.

"Bones," Booth crocked on the other end. "I need you," He said, and he sounded awful.

"Booth, are you okay?" She shot up out of her bed. He groaned and she heard him drop the phone before what sounded like he threw up. Brennan sighed and waited until she heard the toilet flush. "I'll be over in a bit." She said, before hanging up. She didn't even change out of her pajama's, she just grabbed a few things out of her medicine cabinet, threw them in her purse, and left.

Booth knew who it was when he heard the door open, and he was happy he wasn't left to puke alone anymore. It had been years since he had gotten this drunk, and he knew that he needed someone to be with him. When she got to his room, he noticed that she was still in her pajamas.

"Hey, Bones," He whispered. She grabbed the bottle of water out of her purse and placed it beside the cup that had gone empty.

"Good, you're drinking water." She said, refilling the cup.

"Barely," He whispered. "I'm rinsing my mouth out with it, really." He shrugged. She sighed but smiled lightly and sat beside him on the bed. He looked awful, he really did. But, she couldn't help but want to hug him after the night he had had.

"I'm here, Booth." She said, before taking his hand in hers and squeezing lightly. "I always have been," She said, watching him. He shook his head lightly and she could tell he was slowly drifting off to sleep. As soon as he fell asleep, she knew she couldn't leave. What if he were to get sick again? What if he knew she left and was upset with her in the morning? She sat herself beside Booth, putting a bit of distance between them, and grabbed the remote off the table.

As she mindlessly flipped through the late-night television programs, she listened as Booth snored lightly beside her. When he was sleeping, she noticed, he turned to one side, and his arm was hugged close to him, where, she suspected, Hannah would usually be. When she was finally tired enough, she thought about getting up out of bed to sleep on the couch, but, again, decided against it. Seeley Booth needed comfort tonight, and, if anyone, she was the person he needed it from the most.

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now  
Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now  
And I don't know how I can do without  
I just need you now…._

When Booth woke up later, much later, that morning, something, someone was lying beside him. Not only was she lying beside him, she was spooned up against him. He opened his eyes, remembering what happened earlier that morning, and was surprised when he found Bones, his best friend, his partner, pressed against him. His heartbeat increased for a second, and he thought about pushing her away. He had given her two options, only two, and she decided to stay with him. Not only did she stay, she took him home and came back when he needed her most. He closed his eyes again and pressed his nose to her neck, breathing deeply.

"I am so sorry, Temperance." He whispered against her neck. She moved for a moment, but recoiled back into him. He didn't move, he just pulled his grip around her tighter and enjoyed what he could before she woke up. When she did open her eyes, she was a bit surprised to find strong, tan arms wrapped around her thin torso. She turned her head slightly and tired, brown eyes met her.

"Oh, Seeley," She said, scared of his reaction, and tried to pull out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let her.

"No," He asked. "Please, stay." He said, and she shook her head, but turned around to face him better. He watched her for a moment or two, wondering what was going through her head. "I have to apologize," He started.

"No, you were upset and broken hearted and I can completely understand." Brennan said, but Seeley shook his head.

"I was out of line, Bones, and even you know that." He sighed, and she looked away from him for a moment. "I only gave you two options, neither of which you deserved to even consider." He sighed. "I am so sorry, Bones." He said again, and closed his eyes. She could tell by the tone in his voice that he was on the verge of tears again. She took one of her hands and pressed it against his face.

The contracts of rough, unshaven face against her smooth palm was a little shocking at first, but she didn't mind, she liked the feel of his unshaven face. Seeley Booth was a good man with one of the biggest heart muscles that she knew about. He didn't deserve to have such a heart broke like that. As they lay there, looking at each other, something sparked in her brain.

"I love him…" She didn't know that her words had been muttered out loud, but when Seeley heard them his eyes shot open wide.

"You love who, Bones?" He asked, loosening his grip on her. Sure, he could understand if she loved another man, but—wait, Bones just used the word love. "Well, whoever it is," He said after a couple moments of silence. "He must be damn good because he got you to use the word love." Like she hadn't realized that she had said anything out loud, she also didn't realize that she said the word that she refused to believe in. But, when she looked at those broken, beaten brown eyes, her heart broke. Not only was she heart broken, she was mad. Hannah was a friend, a friend she had taken to show that she could accept Booth's moving on, but she broke both of them when she broke him, and now she was just mad.

"How could she do that to you?" She asked, losing all rational thought. This wasn't like her, and it was scaring both herself and Booth.

"How could she do what, Bones? Tell me no," He asked, and then he scoffed. "It's not like it's something you didn't do." He said, and his words stung. With that, she let go of him and crawled out of his arms.

"You know what, Joseph?" She asked.

"Did you just call me Joseph?" He asked, sitting up. "Only my mother calls me that!" He was shocked, but then he saw her standing there, at the edge of his bed, standing the way she stood when she was really pissed off, and he had only seen that look one before in their whole partnership. Whatever he had just said did it, and he wasn't too sure he was strong enough to handle her rebuttal. There was nothing else to be said, for she didn't want to hurt him anymore. She just shook her head, crossed her arms and watched him.

"I love you," She said, before walking out of his bedroom and into his kitchen. Booth sat there for a moment, wondering where on Earth that came from. Then, faster than he should have, he moved quickly down the stairs and found her making coffee.

"You're an incredible woman," He smiled as she started to pour the brown-ish liquid into two glasses. Her expression didn't change.

"If all it takes to get into your heart is a cup of coffee, I would've been in there a long time ago." She said, handing him his cup. He looked down at the coffee for a moment before he looked at her.

"You're the one who always tells me the heart is just a giant muscle," He stated, before taking a sip.

"Yes, and you're the one who's always telling me to listen to the damn thing, Seeley!" She was angry now. "And I did, and you loved Hannah, and now she's gone and I'm here, but I don't have the choice to love you, Seeley because you didn't give me that option!" She was really mad, and he was scared. But, she was right; he didn't give her that option. He sighed and pulled out a chair from his kitchen table.

"What do you want me to say, Bones?" He asked. "You, above anyone, know how bad this hurts," He said, and her eyes went blank for a second. He knew that he was the one who caused that pain, and that killed him. Then, like all of a sudden, her words came to his ears again.

"I love you, Booth." She whispered, and he heard her set her cup down before she squatted down and placed a hand on his knee. His eyes met hers and he was taken back for a moment. He was searching for something, anything, doubt or relevance, something to pull him back from what he was about to do. But, there was nothing to stop him. He cupped her face and pulled her up to him, kissing her softly.

They both tasted like morning breath and alcohol, but neither of them minded. This was what they needed. They needed each other, feelings, brokenness, heartache, laughter, everything.

"Booth," Brennan sighed, pressing their foreheads together.

"Bones," He whispered, watching her. "I need you," He confessed. Of course he didn't mean sexually, not in their current condition, and she understood.

"I know. I need you, too."


End file.
